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Name: Daron Korte
Major: Sociology - LCD
Law School: The John Marshall Law School
How many schools did you apply to? What criteria did you use in picking these schools?
I applied to eight schools. The first criteria I used was location. My family is in the Midwest and I wanted to stay in the area for school and for practice. So I applied to William Mitchell, Hamline, St. Thomas, Marquette, Loyola-Chicago, DePaul, John Marshall, and Chicago-Kent. These were the schools in the area that, according to LSAT/UGPA averages, I had the possibility of getting into.
How did you prepare for the LSAT? Do you have any advice?
I bought the Princeton Review "Cracking the LSAT" and followed their 2 month study regimen. I also purchased one of the LSAC former test books. I increased my score 5 points from first test to end result using this method.
I think the classes are useful and I probably would have received a higher score using one, but I'm not sure if the price is worth it. If you have the temperance to follow the regime on your own, you probably don't need a class. If you like structure and learn better audibly, take the class. Affordability was the biggest issue for me.
What strategies did you use in networking with the professors and employers who wrote letters of recommendation for you? I started far too late and it caused my application to be completed late. In the fall, I walked into a professor's office and told him my goal was to get a letter of recommendation from him at the end of the semester. I got an A in the class, but I'm sure this was not the best way of going about it. It seemed to me, by doing this, it looked to the professor that I was demanding a letter, that I wanted special treatment or something. The only proven, solid way to do it is to start early. Find a professor you like and take a few classes with them. Do well in the classes. Go to office hours. I started far to late and the letter I received was slim simply because the professor didn't know me well enough to elaborate.
My other letter proves this. The other letter was from an attorney/alumni who was director of a not-for-profit I was involved in throughout college. I knew him for years, and he gave me a great letter.
How did you go about writing your personal statement? How much did you change your personal statement to fit each school? I bought a book called "50 Essays that Worked for Law School" or something like that. It helped to get ideas for structure and creative ways to get the officers attention. I felt like I had good structure and form but my big problem was I used a single form to fit all school (except changing names/locations). Admissions officers see thousands of these letters a year and they know when they are receiving a boilerplate letter. Little tricks like changing school names or tidbits about the city won't work. SERIOUSLY, write a unique letter for each school using unique information so that the officer knew you wrote this for the school (i.e. something about Justice Marshall if applying to John Marshall). But be careful, don't stretch to do this, because officers will see that too.
If you had a chance to go through the process again, is there anything you would have done differently? I would have started earlier. I didn't actually submit my application until after my Fall semester grades were received. This helped because I got good grades that semester, but it hurt because many spots were filled by the time the schools even received my information. The earlier in the process you apply, the more likely you will get in, and the more likely you will be eligible for scholarship.
Is law school like you expected it would be? Why or why not? By the time you start your first day, you will be expecting Hell on Earth. In reality, it just isn't that bad. Compared to undergrad, it is much harder and much more work. But you will have free time. The formula I have found that works is 1/3 of the week for class/studying, 1/3 sleep, and 1/3 for everything else. I think it's important to keep time to yourself away from law school. Or else you'll go nuts by the end of the semester. If you need to work out for an hour a day to blow off steam, do it. If you want to watch a football game a week, do it. I you want to go out to a bar on a Friday OR Saturday night, do it. Manage your time and you'll have plenty of it. Although I haven't taken first semester exams yet, so I may change my tune in early December.
Any final Advice? Make sure this is what you want to do. When all is said and done, I'll be over $100,000 in debt in less than three years. My goal is to work in Public Interest for a few years, but that goal is probably unrealistic because the low salary those jobs pay will not be sufficient to make loan payments when I graduate.
Also, be sure to go to school in an area where you want to work. DO NOT go to a small law school in a small city if you do not want to practice there for at least 4-6 years. DO NOT go to Hamline if you want to practice in Seattle. The vast majority of firms recruit directly from local law schools because most of the recruiters went to those law schools. Plus firms look to local law schools because they are more familiar with state law and more likely to pass the state portion of the Bar Exam. I cannot emphasize this enough. Choose the location of your school wisely, because wherever it is likely going to be your home for at least a decade.
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